About This Project

Astronauts experience dysregulated immune function in space that may be related to their microbial communities, but there is a gap in knowledge on how space impacts microbiomes. Our lab investigates the impact of space-related microgravity, or near weightlessness, on the immune response of a simplified model system: a squid and its beneficial bacteria. In this study, we will analyze the gene expression of two innate immune pathways in the squid in relation to their bacteria in microgravity.